Here are more examples of scenario-based questions that have come up during law firm interviews, complete with summaries of answers provided by candidates who were offered vacation schemes or training contracts after the interviews during which these questions came up.

1. You have to go to your sister’s wedding tomorrow and everyone in your team is aware. However, a partner unaware of your situation asks you to prepare a client presentation and come with him to the client meeting, which is tomorrow. What would you do? 

I said that I would tell the partner that I really appreciated the opportunity and would love to assist with making the presentation, but inform him that I was planning to attend my sister's wedding the next day. I mentioned that I would of course work late to help with the client presentation if necessary, and take my laptop with me to the wedding if needed.

2. You are out for drinks with your colleagues, and you overhear some lawyers from another law firm, talking about a deal that you are working on. You realise that the information is confidential but could be used in favour of your client. What would you do?

I said I would definitely not use the information. I mentioned that I would let my supervisor know and let them decide if we should notify the client about the situation.

3. You are working on an important deal with another trainee. You have tight deadlines, but the other trainee has been unresponsive for a few days. They have been showing up late and have been missing internal deadlines. You want to be a good team player and finish the work on time, so you take on some of their workload to help ensure the work is finished on time. However, the trainee then takes all the credit for your work in front of your supervisor. What would you do?

I said I would not react in front of my supervisor, but would confront my colleague in a private setting, in a professional manner. I then said that if they had a justifiable explanation I would let it be, but if not, I would report it to my supervisor so that the culture of the firm would not be affected.